The Wild Frontier Memorial Project, campaigning for a statue of THIN LIZZY guitar legend Gary Moore to be erected in Belfast, are asking fans to weigh in with support as “first impression” images of the statue are released.
Sculptor David A Annand, who was chosen on artistic merit, most notably for the incredible likeness of his Billy Connolly statue in Glasgow, has completed the full-size clay model of the Gary Moore statue which has met the approval of the late rock and blues legend’s family.
Gary Moore grew up in Belfast and moved to Dublin as a teenager, where he struck up a friendship with THIN LIZZY‘s iconic lead singer Phil Lynott. The pair would perform together with SKID ROW, THIN LIZZY and as solo artists.
Moore, who had a global hit with his ‘Still Got The Blues’ album in 1990, died on February 6, 2011.
Belfast City Council has given its full support for the statue and is currently aiming to secure a suitable location in the city’s cultural and tourism hub.
While fan support has covered the costs of the clay impression, which is now secured and ready for bronze casting, another £70,000 is needed to complete the statue plus additional costs to deliver it from the artist’s studio in Scotland and install it in Belfast. An online crowdfunding page has been launched to support the project while fans host annual Gary Moore tribute gigs as fundraisers.
Gary‘s sister Patricia Moore said: “It was overwhelming to see the first images of Gary’s statue. It now feels like a reality. We always wanted this to be a statue that Gary’s fans had ownership of. We wanted to allow every fan to say, ‘I helped put this statue here.’
“It feels so close but there’s still a way to go. We are all looking forward to a day when people will visit Belfast to pay their respects to Gary and the statue. We just need a big push to get the funding needed, and we hope fans will be encouraged with the clay model images!”
Gary Moore press photo courtesy of Mascot Label Group / Photo credit for “first impression” images of statue: David McIntyre
“First impression” images of statue supplied to BLABBERMOUTH.NET by Alex McGreevy for Moore family